Key Quotes from The Odyssey.
Odysseus is prevented from returning home by the nymph, Calypso, but, ‘all the gods
pitied him, except Poseidon, who pursued the heroic Odysseus with relentless malice.’
Poseidon’s malice stems from revenge, his desire to harm Odysseus comes from …
In the threat of Odysseus being dead, Suitors arrive to marry Penelope. Telemachus
says, ‘though she hates the idea of remarrying, she cannot bring herself to take the final
step of rejecting all the Suitors or accepting one of them.’ There is a hint of infidelity in
the Suitor’s arrival, although they are unsure whether Odysseus is alive or dead the
Suitors have come to marry Penelope. However, Penelope hates the idea because her
trust remains with Odysseus. Could this suggest a spiritual connection between the two,
something which Calypso can never understand?
After Telemachus is spurred to a sense of duty by Athene, he delivers this message to
Penelope, ‘making decisions must be men’s concern, and mine in particular; for I am
master in this house.’ He is asserting his authority now that he is the man of the house
but this undermines the twenty-first-century ethical concern with gender stereotypes and
women’s hierarchal place in society. It is clear in this line that a man must make the
decisions of the household which clearly indicates that women did not have the
authority that men had.
Problems with the Suitors begin to arise in Book II where Telemachus stands before the
Assembly and states, ‘a crowd of Suitors are pestering my mother with their unwanted
attentions.’ Whilst worrying that he did not inherit his father’s glory, Telemachus, looks to
the Assembly to help him get rid of the Suitors. The use of ‘unwanted attentions’ is a
slight suggestion that they have harassed Penelope. This becomes an ethical concern
for the readership. One of the leading Suitors, as it were, Antinous replies to
Telemachus’s speech with, ‘it is your own mother, that incomparable schemer, who is
the culprit. [...] She has been leading us on, giving us all some grounds for hope.’
Another ethical concern has been risen here and stems from this line as Penelope is
being blamed for the way in which they are or have reacted to her protestations. She
then becomes the culprit for ‘all the wealth that is being wasted.’ However, others could
read from this that Penelope wants to remain faithful to her husband even if he is
presumed dead.
The betrayal of trust is shown when Helen; ‘slipped a drug that had the power of robbing
grief and anger [...] banishing all painful memories,’ into their wine. While this betrayal is
done with good intentions it can be seen as a betrayal of trust and therefore an ethical
concern because she had drugged them.
Odysseus is prevented from returning home by the nymph, Calypso, but, ‘all the gods
pitied him, except Poseidon, who pursued the heroic Odysseus with relentless malice.’
Poseidon’s malice stems from revenge, his desire to harm Odysseus comes from …
In the threat of Odysseus being dead, Suitors arrive to marry Penelope. Telemachus
says, ‘though she hates the idea of remarrying, she cannot bring herself to take the final
step of rejecting all the Suitors or accepting one of them.’ There is a hint of infidelity in
the Suitor’s arrival, although they are unsure whether Odysseus is alive or dead the
Suitors have come to marry Penelope. However, Penelope hates the idea because her
trust remains with Odysseus. Could this suggest a spiritual connection between the two,
something which Calypso can never understand?
After Telemachus is spurred to a sense of duty by Athene, he delivers this message to
Penelope, ‘making decisions must be men’s concern, and mine in particular; for I am
master in this house.’ He is asserting his authority now that he is the man of the house
but this undermines the twenty-first-century ethical concern with gender stereotypes and
women’s hierarchal place in society. It is clear in this line that a man must make the
decisions of the household which clearly indicates that women did not have the
authority that men had.
Problems with the Suitors begin to arise in Book II where Telemachus stands before the
Assembly and states, ‘a crowd of Suitors are pestering my mother with their unwanted
attentions.’ Whilst worrying that he did not inherit his father’s glory, Telemachus, looks to
the Assembly to help him get rid of the Suitors. The use of ‘unwanted attentions’ is a
slight suggestion that they have harassed Penelope. This becomes an ethical concern
for the readership. One of the leading Suitors, as it were, Antinous replies to
Telemachus’s speech with, ‘it is your own mother, that incomparable schemer, who is
the culprit. [...] She has been leading us on, giving us all some grounds for hope.’
Another ethical concern has been risen here and stems from this line as Penelope is
being blamed for the way in which they are or have reacted to her protestations. She
then becomes the culprit for ‘all the wealth that is being wasted.’ However, others could
read from this that Penelope wants to remain faithful to her husband even if he is
presumed dead.
The betrayal of trust is shown when Helen; ‘slipped a drug that had the power of robbing
grief and anger [...] banishing all painful memories,’ into their wine. While this betrayal is
done with good intentions it can be seen as a betrayal of trust and therefore an ethical
concern because she had drugged them.
